In the End
by Imidgery
Summary: "I love you I hate you I can't get around you I breathe you I taste you I can't live without you I just can't take any more this life of solitude I guess that i'm out the door and now i'm done with you" When the whole world has gone up in flames, and everything seems to be crashing down on them, can Arnold and Helga get through the end of it all?
1. Chapter 1

"Mrs. Shortman." Helga heard a familiar voice almost sing. She just grumbled in her sleep, rolling over.

"Helga." She heard him coo again.

Suddenly a gentle hand touched her cheek and a slightly wet kiss was planted on her forehead. "Wake up sweetheart."

Helga sat up quickly, almost head butting Arnold in her half dazed stupor. "I'm awake, I'm up." She slurred, stretching and sending her arms above her head almost whacking Arnold in the face. After two years of marriage, he had learned to dodge sleepy Pataki punches.

He sat down next to her while she still started waking up, graciously taking the warm coffee from Arnold's hand and sipping it. "Sure my dear wife, that cup of coffee was most definitely for you." He snorted.

Helga did not even acknowledge his remark, to his amusement. "Good morning." She said, finally starting to wake up a little bit.

Arnold smoothed the straggling hair behind her ear and kissed her on the cheek. "Good morning hun, I just wanted to wake you up before I left for work. What do you want me to bring home for dinner?" He asked, taking the now empty coffee cup from Helga's grip.

"Uhm…" She said, still a little sleepy. "I'm not sure yet babe, I'll call you when I know, okay?" She looked up at him and he smiled, she looked so precious to him when she first woke up with her slight bags under her eyes, her messy wild hair, and her sports bra with her shorts (Arnold obviously did not mind the small amount of clothes).

"That's fine honey." He looked at his watch before starting to hustle around the room. "I'm going to be late if I don't hurry." He started looking for his favorite tie that Helga had bought him last Christmas.

"You always say you'll be late and you're always fifteen minutes early." She teased.

"And I'd like to keep it that way thank you very much!" He kept searching, when he noticed that Helga had something in her hand. It was the tie he was looking for.

"You really love watching me squirm, don't you?" He teased, slowly walking back over to the bed, wondering what exactly Helga had planned. She never just had his ties in her hand to be helpful.

"What?" She smirked. "I just found it, I swear." She waited until he made it next to the bed, sitting up on her knees so she could be closer to his height.

"Uh huh, sure you were."

"Let me tie it, I'm better at it than you anyways." She looped the tie around his neck and began tying it.

Arnold watched her intently as she worked her fingers quickly around the knot. She really could tie them faster than him. He felt his head fling forward when Helga pulled rather hard on the tie, bringing him towards her so she could kiss him.

Arnold smiled before taking her face in his hands and deepening the kiss.

After a moment, Helga's frisky hands made their way towards his tucked in shirt. He took her hands off of his waist just as she was beginning to work his shirt untucked from his pants.  
"You're no fun." She whined, plopping back onto the bed in a huff.

"We can continue this venture when I get home." He teased, kissing her on the nose before walking over to the bedroom door. "I love you, Helga." He look at her, smiling.

Her head perked up with a small smile on her face. "I love you too, football head."

Arnold just laughed before shutting the bedroom door behind him and heading downstairs.

On his way through the hallway, he smiled and waved to some of the tenants. Grandma and grandpa had left the boarding house to Arnold as a wedding gift to him and Helga, they were trying to get rid of it anyways so they could travel at their old age, and Arnold was quick to accept it since the newly-weds needed a home and this was so familiar to them. Unfortunately, none of the old tenants remained in the boarding house. Most of them had either moved or passed away early in life, like Mr. Kakashka. All Arnold knew about that was he had lost a gambling bet and wasn't heard from again. It seemed like Mrs. Kakashka wasn't too heartbroken though, since she remarried only a few months later and ran of with him to Fiji.

He snorted at the random memory, grabbing his overcoat on his way out. He knew that fall was coming to Hillwood with a vengeance this year so he decided to toss a light scarf around his neck as well.

Walking towards the hospital, he already had started receiving pages calling him to come as quickly as he could. Being what many considered the best ER doctor they had on staff, he was always the one they called – even if he was off. Arnold picked up his pace when the fourth page had gone off.

Helga sighed, wanting to fall back asleep. She finally had a day off after 14 straight days of working at the office. She had become head of security for a major health company and they had been working her to the bone, but the pay was worth it.

She finally decided to get up after almost another hour of laying sprawled out on the bed. She groaned, rolling off the bed and stomping down the stairs.

Most of the tenants were either off to work or in their room, so only two or three were out and about, giving Helga a little bit of privacy as she grabbed her plain breakfast of cereal.

She poured the milk and cereal, heading back upstairs to eat it.

By the time she got back into the bedroom, the cereal was almost gone. She pressed the button on the wall and the coach flipped out from the wall, Helga plopping on it the second it clicked into its proper place.

She flipped on the TV, surfing through channels on their rather large, new TV that Bob had bought them as a gift now that he owned "Bob's Electronic Emporium." Beepers were lost with the Walkman, and Bob decided to expand on the business, which was fine for Helga and Arnold because that meant almost free electronics.

"Are you smarter than a sixth gr-"

*click*

"No deal, or deal?"

*click*

"I KNOW HE'S THE FATHER-"

*click*

"-attacks are being reported-"

*click*

Hang on, that caught Helga's attention. She quickly fumbled back to the local news channel.

"-all over the country that people are roaming the streets, attacking random people and biting them for some unknown reason. Many of these claims have yet to be confirmed, however, we will keep you posted when more information arrives to our newsroom."

"Whoa, sounds like a bunch of druggies." Helga shrugged, picking some comedy off of the DVR as she finished her cereal.

Arnold hustled home as fast as he could, hoping everything at home was alright. His heart was pounding out of his chest as he practically sprinted home.

He flung open the front door and ran up the stairs two at a time before slinging the bedroom door open, it slamming against the wall.

"Hey babe." She looked over at Arnold, who was panting as he ran around the room in a whirlwind of grabbing clothes and stuffing them in two book bags. "You okay? Did you have a rough day?" She asked, confused.

"We have to leave Helga, _now._" He rasped, almost finished packing at this point.

"Why? What's going on?" It was then that she noticed the blood all over Arnold's shirt. "…Arnold? What's happening?" She was now getting nervous, Arnold never panicked.

"Something's happening Helga. I'm not sure what, or why, but people were getting up and biting others. People that were pronounced dead on the table." He breathed, still not able to believe it himself.

"What do you mean? What-"

"Helga! We don't have time for twenty questions! We have to go!"

Helga jumped, startled by his outburst before jumping up and throwing a pair of tennis shoes on.

Arnold grabbed her hand and they charged down the stairs and out the front door to a fury of sirens, screaming, and running people.

"Where are we going Arnold?" She asked, not trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"We're going uptown." He was almost yelling, it was hard to hear over all the commotion. "There's supposed to be an evacuation site there." His grip tightened on Helga's hand so that he wouldn't lose her in all of the frantic people.

Helga could feel a fire building up in her legs from all of the running, but it seemed to become numb the second they began seeing the flashing lights and the wall of military personnel guarding the city's exit. People were being scanned before being let through.

Helga and Arnold finally made it towards the front of the lines when they were abruptly stopped by more military.

An eerie, booming voice called over the intercom. "We are now only allowing women and children through the gates." It clicked off, offering no further information.

Arnold's heart dropped down through his stomach, and his skin began to crawl in fear for the first time since this started. He took a deep breath, everything seeming like it was going half speed as he gathered his composure.

He turned to Helga and took her other hand that he wasn't holding. "Helga, you need to go."

"What?" Helga yelped. "Arnold no, I can't leave you!" She whimpered.

Arnold kissed her, before a blood curtling scream nearby them jerked them away from each other.

A young woman slammed between them, being torn to bits in the neck by some unknown young child.

Now was his chance, Arnold grabbed Helga's shoulders and shoved her into the military line, who quickly scanned her and threw her into the other side of the barrier for transport.

Helga was crying now. "Arnold!" She screamed, being dragged by two men who tossed her into a crowded helicopter that began lifting with no hesitation.

She watched in horror as the child now had his eyes set on Arnold.

The last thing Helga saw of Arnold was him being knocked flat on his back by the crazed boy.

"ARNOLD!" She shrieked, banging on the glass of the helicopter until her hand began to bleed.

**(…. Soooo…. What do we think? I know it's a little different, and it sounded REALLY cool in my head! But now in text I'm a little iffy about this idea. This is a bit shorter than I'd hoped, but it was mainly just to get the idea out, so what do you guys think? Please let me know! If this idea doesn't take off like I hope, there's another story route that I want to take. And by the way, the next chapter of We All Need Saving is almost done! Yay! (: I'm so happy to be back everyone! Thank you all again for your patience!)**


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Camp

"Arnold… ARNOLD!" Helga kept yelling, ignoring her bleeding hand as she banged against the glass. Her mind was reeling, and there was a fog in her head she just couldn't shake.

Did she just see her husband be attacked … _by a child?_ That was no ordinary kid, Arnold had gotten rather muscular since high school, and it would've taken a lot to bring him down to the ground the way that child did.

She finally noticed her bloodied hand and quickly wiped it on her shirt. She finally had stopped screaming Arnold's name, much to the relief of the rest of the frightened people on the helicopter.

Helga felt her heart start pounding as the helicopter got closer and closer to what she assumed was their destination. It looked almost like the old concentration camps from World War II. She could see the tight quarters of the people and the excessive military presence. It seemed like whatever was going on was everywhere, not just Hillwood like she had hoped.

The helicopter landed with a bump that sent Helga off her seat and onto the small empty space that was the only part of the floor of the helicopter that wasn't cramped with people.

A gentleman threw open the door, decked out in the country's finest military equipment, gun and all. He looked like he was gearing for war. Helga felt the pit in her stomach grow even larger.

Three other military men appeared and began escorting everyone out of the helicopter and filed them into a nearby building- well, if that's what you would call a building. It looked like a hard topped tent that was thrown up last minute. This whole place looked like it was thrown up in less than a day.

Once the military men finally stopped escorting them into the building, the large door shut. The man who was obviously the leader stepped forward. He looked like he had seen enough for everyone in the room. Helga didn't want to even imagine the places he'd been and the things he'd been through.

"My name is Staff Sergeant Jasper of the U.S. Army. I am the overseer of everything that happens in this refugee camp."

_Refugee camp?_

"You will address me as sir and you will follow the rules we have in place here. Breaking those rules will not be tolerated while you under my watch in this camp. Disobedience is cause for strict punishment that I assure you, you will not enjoy. Am I clear?"

No one responded, there were a few mumbles in the group, but no answer towards the Sergeant's question.

"I said am I _clear?_" He said in a more raised voice this time, causing a few people to jump. Everyone immediately agreed.

"Good. Now, I'm sure all of you are wondering what exactly is happening. And I will be perfectly honest with you."

Helga felt her heart racing. Maybe now she'd get some answers as to what happened to her husband.

She noticed the Sergeant take a deep breath, like he was preparing for panic. That couldn't be good.

"We are not entirely sure."

The small crowd grew much louder. People asking how they couldn't know, what kind of military didn't know what was happening in their own country, and why he was in charge. Questioning his job.

"Hey, you maroons!" Helga shouted, the crowd growing silent at the sudden outburst. "This guy sa_ved_ us, and you idiots thank him by acting like this because he doesn't have all the answers? Why don't you assholes just shut the hell up and let the man finish!" She huffed, the group staying quiet now.

Helga turned back around, facing the surprised military men. The Sergeant just watched her, before nodding in appreciation. She just waved her hand quickly, like she was saying "get on with it."

The Sergeant cleared his throat. "Now, that being said. We are working on finding out what exactly is causing these attacks on citizens." He paused. "In the meantime, breakfast is at 7:30 sharp, lunch at noon, and dinner at 18:00. There are showers in the facility, and you will shower every three days to conserve water."

There were a few frustrated groans at that last one.

"And lastly, you will stay out of the way of my men." He stated that last one rather sternly. He meant business with that one.

"Follow these few simple rules and your stay here will be as pleasant as we can make it."

The sergeant and his men began walking out of the building, the large metal door creaking as it was pulled open. Just then the sergeant stopped, like he had forgotten something. "Oh," He turned, looking at the group once again. "And you will stay away from the South gate." He stated slowly and forcefully. Helga's curiousity was peaked. What exactly was at the south gate that he clearly didn't want them to know about?

With that, the men left the building and the door remained open, allowing Helga and the rest of them to leave the building whenever they chose.

Helga wasn't about to stay here another minute, she stormed out, looking around in surprise at just how large this place truly was.

She turned, noticing a domed building past the sign that said _housing._ People were coming and going from it in short bursts. Helga decided to head there first to look at the sleeping arrangements.

She brushed past a few people standing outside of the entrance and stepped in, a little shocked at the relatively decent sized beds. _Arnold could fit in one with me…_ she thought, suddenly feeling like she was going to begin crying again.

Just as she began rubbing her eyes, she heard a voice she knew all too well, she felt her heart leap out of her chest.

"Helga?"

She whipped around, having to look a little downward to see her dear friend Phoebe staring at her a few feet away.

"Ph-Phoebe!" She choked out, the two running towards each other and colliding in a loud slap that sounded more painful than it did comfortable.

"I'm so happy you're here, I was so worried I would be alone here." Phoebe whimpered, then began to search the room for a moment. "Where's Arnold?"

Helga couldn't hold back this time, she let out a loud sob before hugging her friend again. "Oh Phoebe, he's gone. He was attacked while we were being evacuated from Hillwood!"

"Oh no Helga, I'm so sorry…"

Helga just stood there, hugging Phoebe for a few more moments in silence before letting go and wiping away the tears from her eyes. "I don't know what I'm going to do without him Pheebs…" She whimpered.

Phoebe didn't say anything. What could she say? Her best friend since childhood just witnessed her husband get attacked and killed. She just reached out and gave Helga's hand a squeeze. "Come on Helga, maybe some sleep will do you a little bit of good."

Helga just nodded, plopping onto the first open bed they saw. She didn't think it'd be that easy to fall asleep, but surprisingly she fell asleep rather quickly.

The next morning, Helga tossed and turned. Why was her bed so uncomfortable? In a sleepy stupor, she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

That was when she remembered. This wasn't her bed, and there was no Arnold beside her or nagging her to wake up. She took a deep, steadying breath to keep herself from beginning to cry before standing up from the bed. Her neck was stiff from the hard pillow.

"Morning Helga." Phoebe yawned, in the bed next to Helga's.

"Hi Pheebs." She stretched. "You hungry?"

"I could eat. Breakfast should be just starting."

"Well let's go see what kind of crappy food they've got here then." Helga and Phoebe started walking out of their new 'home.'

"Oh and Pheebs?"

"Yes Helga?"

"We should go see what's at the south gate."

"Helga, no!" Phoebe almost shouted, clearly aggravated with Helga's suggestion. "That man said specifically said not to go there!"

Helga looked at Phoebe, an eyebrow raised. "And when have I ever listened to what I've been told?"

Phoebe just stared at her friend for a short time, before sighing and shaking her head, knowing she was going to go to make sure Helga would be alright. "We are going to get in so much trouble…"

"I could use some trouble right about now."

***** Hey everybody ! yaaaay finally am getting this one running ! (: I'm excited for this one. I know this chapter was kind of boring, but believe me, next chapter is going to be J-U-I-C-Y! Wooohooo I'm already pumped about it! Do you think Arnold really died? Maybe he's zombified, maybe he escaped, or maybe he's deader than a doorknob! We'll have to find out! Have a great day everybody ! (: *** **


	3. Chapter 3: A Bite out of Life

Helga and Phoebe waited patiently for nightfall in order to be able to properly sneak around the camp to get to the South Gate. The girls both climbed into their beds and pretended to be asleep, staying quiet.

They waited until they were sure everyone was asleep, and left their building. They had to be quiet because of the guards, but most of the guards weren't even really paying that much attention. Most of them were talking about their families managing to make it to the refugee camp safely. Helga felt her heart plummet, looking down at her wedding ring. If only she were that lucky too.

They managed to make it past all of the bedding buildings, and the closer they got to the south gate, the emptier the buildings got.

Finally reaching what looked like the fence line, Helga and Phoebe slowly walked closer, hearing strange sounds coming from what seemed like every direction. It was so dark, all of the lights in the camp were out of reach of this area, probably to keep nosey people out of the area... except the two of them.

Phoebe stayed behind while Helga kept walking towards the large, thick chain link fence, where the noises got louder.

"Helga," Phoebe whispered. "Don't get too close… you don't know what's out there."

Helga ignored her warning. "I'm just trying to see what's so special about this stupid gate." She reached the gate, leaning against it with her hands holding onto it as she squinted to see what was out there, like she was going to see something with the dim light behind them.

Without warning, a person – no… not a person – some kind of creature that looked like once upon a time it may have been human slammed up against the other side of the gate, growling. Before Helga could jump back, it managed to get a hold of her left arm, yanking her whole arm up to her shoulder through a hole in the fence. Pulling Helga's face painfully against the chain link fence that began to push on her skin.

"Helga!" Phoebe yelled, running towards her friend.

Helga's eyes widened as the creature latched onto her arm with its teeth, tearing her flesh and sending blood spraying. The blood- her blood, splattered across her face. Her face slammed against the chain link fence once more as it jerked its head back with her arm in its mouth, trying to pull her through.

Phoebe was now behind her, holding Helga and trying to pull her away from the fence, but the creature's bite was too strong. The more Phoebe pulled, the harder the thing latched onto her arm, digging its finger nails deep into her skin, ripping and scratching at her skin.

Helga was paralyzed as she watched it let up just to bite down on her arm again, this time deeper. The monster seemed to look right into her eyes as it ripped back and forth on her arm, almost like it was starving. Her arm was going to be ripped off if this kept up.

Phoebe continued to struggle with Helga and the creature. Begging Helga to move, scream, do _something_.

Suddenly, there was a gunshot that rang out right behind Helga and Phoebe, the creature had been hit in its chest, but it was relentless, and it bit down another time, even harder. Another gunshot rang out and the creature suddenly stopped its attack on her arm. Helga looked to see a bullet hole in its head. Slowly, the creature's jaw slowly unlocked from Helga's arm and dropped to the ground.

Once it let go of Helga, Phoebe and herself fell back onto the ground from Phoebe's pulling. When they looked up, four soldiers were now standing over them, their guns drawn, ready to shoot them at a moment's notice.

"Get the bitten." A muffled order from one of the soldiers had sent the other three into action, yanking Helga up by her shoulders and dragging her away from Phoebe.

Helga's ears were ringing from the gunshots, the only thing she could hear was Phoebe screaming her name before she was no longer within earshot of her friend.

Her left arm was nothing but red from the blood coming out of the bites, it feeling like it was hanging on by a thread to her body. Before Helga knew it, she was in a building that was all on its own. She was not-so-gently tossed in a chair with a thump. Helga looked down at her arm. The bites were bad, they left her arm looking like raw hamburger meat.

Her mind was reeling. Was she going to die? Was this how you became one of those monsters? Would she feel the change? She had no idea what would happen. Arnold then crossed her mind. Was this how he felt when he was attacked by that child the first night? Her heart dropped down into her stomach. _Oh Arnold…_

Helga sat, bleeding, a small pool of her blood beginning to form on the floor next to her. Quite a few minutes had passed by and Helga was starting to get lightheaded, it was difficult to hold her own head up. She had just enough strength to wobbly turn her head when she heard the door open.

A very rushed, very angry Sergeant came tearing around the side of her.

"Just couldn't stay out of it, could you?" He said in a clearly frustrated huff. "You just _had_ to see what was at the South gate…" He pointed at her hamburger arm. "Now look at where you and your curiosity have gotten you."

Helga grew more and more lightheaded, but the sergeant seemed less than concerned with her blood loss.

Her continued to pace the floor. "You compromised the safety of my team, the camp, and yourself by going beyond where you were allowed and now you are bitten."

"And yet…" The sergeant backed away and turned. "You're not changing."

Helga's eyes rolled in the back of her head as she tried to look at him. The sergeant turned to face her once more. "The bites are what spread the infection, that's why it spread so fast throughout the populace." He took her arm in his grip, a whimper escaping from Helga when he did. The sergeant held it up to inspect her bloody wounds. "And yet here you are not trying to attack me, your pupils haven't dilated, nothing to suggest infection…" The sergeant looked clearly curious as to what made Helga so different.

The sergeant not-so-gently tossed Helga's injured arm out of his grip, a cry escaping from her as her arm slumped back down, pulling at her bites. "I need a medic in here!" He yelled. It seemed like Helga was finally going to get some help for her wounds.

A man and a woman that appeared to be nurses came into the room pushing a tray stacked with a variety of medical tools and instruments. Helga felt herself getting weaker and weaker, the blood that pooled on the floor was so significant it shocked the medics that she was still conscious. The sergeant backed away while they patched Helga up. A few winces and cries coming from her every so often when they cleaned up her wounds with alcohol, even removing a dislodged tooth from a bite. They were even nice enough to wipe the blood from her face. Once the bleeding stopped and the medics wiped away the blood and cleaned out the bites, Helga finally got a good look at her wounds.

She had four distinct bites and quite a few scratches going up and down her arm. It looked like somebody had stepped on a raw burger. That thing really had gotten a good hold of her. Helga shuddered, realizing just how close she had come to death.

The medics continued to work on her, wrapping her arm up in gauze after cleaning out her bites and scratches.

"When you're finished with her here, I want you to take her into testing." The sergeant said, walking closer to Helga. "We're going to find out why she isn't infected."

Helga's ears seemed to perk when he said testing. She managed to muster up enough energy to kick the sergeant in the face when he got closer enough, sending him backwards in alarm. He brought his hand up to his lip, noticing he had begun to bleed. He glared at Helga before issuing an order to the nurses. "Sedate her."

Before Helga could fight back, she felt a small pinch in her arm, a nurse had gotten a needle in her with the sedative.

Helga was frozen, not knowing what to do or how to react. The sedative must have been fast acting, because she began to feel less of the pain of her arm, and more of a strong pull to fall asleep.

The sergeant went to inspect her bites again before Helga jerked away with the rest of her energy.

"Don't you dare touch me." She slurred, the sedative making her woozy.

"Oh…my dear," The sergeant said, grabbing her chin in his grip to bring her eyes to his. "We're going to do more than merely touch you."

*****I'm so sorry this took so long guys... I've had a crazy last few months. I got a promotion at work and it started to completely eat up my time. Then of course once I managed to get free time I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled. Thanks everyone for your patience and I hope it was worth it! I know this one is a little boring but the next chapter is almost ready (: as always, let me know what you think!*****


	4. Chapter 4: If I Could Escape

Helga's body contorted on the floor of her room, her torso jerking back and forth, her arms twitching. She was laying on her side, trying to gather her thoughts while the seizure passed. Her eyes were wide open, she could feel them open, searching for any sort of vision, but it was only black.

After almost a minute, Helga's seizure passed, and she lay on the floor, breathing heavily and trying to compose herself. Her foggy mind began to clear enough for her to attempt to sit up. She finally was able to force the upper half of her body upright and leaned against the cot in her room.

Her head hit the side of the mattress with a small thud.

Helga's seizures were becoming a little more aggressive now.

She leaned forward, placing her head in her hands and took a deep breath. She had been having seizures ever since the sergeant ordered her to have her skull cut open and examined a few months ago.

Something went slightly wrong, and whatever they hit in her brain caused her to now have seizures, and they didn't even tell her about it. She just started having seizures, and had to put two and two together.

Helga gingerly touched her thick scar that was towards the back of her skull. They had also shaved her head, but her hair was starting to grow back. It was at a short, choppy length that was surprisingly flattering on her.

She heard her stomach growl in protest to the lack of food in it. Helga sighed once more, she knew her meal would not be coming for quite a few more hours.

The sergeant had ordered her meals be smaller portions and only twice a day because Helga got a bit grouchy and kicked one of the nurses so hard in the nose that the soldier is now permanently disfigured. She snorted, that soldier deserved it for trying to take her wedding ring. She smiled faintly before tracing the dent over her left ring finger where her wedding ring once stayed.

Helga had put up a good fight, but once they sedated her, there was nothing she could do, and what's more… they cut it off of her so she would not be able to wear it again.

She began getting lost in her thoughts just as the sergeant walked in. "Good afternoon patient 1." He said, not even bothering to look at her as he continued to flip through the clipboard he had in his hands. "Your most recent blood results are inconclusive as usual." He scoffed, not surprised by the fact that the tests showed no reasoning behind her immunity.

"Why are you even surprised anymore?" She snorted, crossing her arms as she still sat on the floor.

He looked up from his clipboard long enough to glare at her. "Well, lucky for you, we will be taking twice as much today, just for your lovely attitude you chose to have." He smirked, flipping the paper back down and walking out of her room, the door slamming shut behind him.

Helga clenched her fists. Great… now she'd be too weak to even get out of bed when they were done with her. Between the lack of proper nourishment and the amount of blood they will draw, she would be too weak to function.

She leaned her head back once more, closing her eyes and dozing off for a little while.

Helga awoke to her door shutting again. Her eyes opened and the two nurses that she always dealt with were standing before her with their little cart.

"Stand up please." They ordered. Helga sighed, standing up only to sit back down, this time on her bed. The male nurse handed Helga some crackers to eat, only enough to keep her from passing out during them drawing her blood.

The nurse tied up her right arm and began feeling around for a vein. The nurse told Helga she had "varicose veins," which pretty much made it very difficult to find a vein in her arm. The nurse had left several bruises and marks on her arm from trying to find them a few other times. A few times it even left scarring.

She wished the nurse could take blood from her left arm, but after the attack almost seven months ago, it was too damaged to even attempt to find a vein. Helga glanced over at her torn up arm, it was discolored, practically white from her wrist up past her elbow and there were scars from the bite marks.

Helga flinched when the needle went in once the nurse finally found a vein. She felt her blood being pulled from her body, her arm slightly throbbing.

After they pulled two vials, the nurses began packing up their things. The female wiped off Helga's arm and stuck a piece of cotton on it.

Just as the nurses were about to exit, a loud, shrill alarm began blaring throughout the room. The nurses and Helga looked around, confused. Helga had never heard this alarm before, and neither had the nurses from their reaction.

Suddenly, a soldier busted into the room, breathing heavily. "There's been a breach." He was panting.

The nurses looked stunned, and Helga was surprised as well.

"I've been ordered to escort you three out, we need to hurry." The soldier practically shoved the three of them out of the room. The alarm continued to blare throughout the building, and it sounded like it was going through the entire camp. Helga could vaguely hear people screaming outside, and some the screams she could hear coming from inside the building.

The group finally managed to make it outside of the building, and rounded the nearest corner. Helga's breath was becoming ragged, and she slowed for just a moment when someone slammed her into the wall, snarling.

She felt a sharp pain in her left arm, when her vision cleared, she looked down to see a biter just starting to gnaw on her arm. She reared her leg back and slammed her foot into the biter's face, only to have it screech and begin chewing again.

Helga reared her foot back for the second kick just as the biter was smacked off of her, something metal pinging against its head as it slumped next to her.

She looked up to see who it was that hit the biter, and her heart leapt.

A disheveled Phoebe was breathing heavily as she stared at Helga for a moment before reaching her hand out to her and helping her up. "We have to hurry!" Phoebe yelled, yanking onto Helga's right arm and practically dragging her behind as Helga was still disoriented.

Phoebe seemed to know where she was going, so Helga didn't object as she led the way.

People were running by them, screaming. It was hard to tell who was infected and who wasn't in all the chaos. Guns were firing off, and some soldiers were being picked off by the infected.

Phoebe and Helga kept running until they reached the line of vehicles that had not yet been taken. Luckily, most of them had keys already in them. Phoebe and Helga stopped at one that was already running. When Phoebe opened the driver's side door, an infected lurched out, immediately trying to bite her.

Phoebe pressed its face to keep its mouth away from her, trying to reach for her pipe with the other hand. Helga immediately grabbed the pipe and hit the infected so hard its neck broke, and the screeching stopped as it went limp on Phoebe, she shoved it off and took the pipe from Helga before they climbed into the vehicle.

Phoebe threw the vehicle into gear and sent dirt skidding behind them as they fishtailed before barreling towards the exit of the camp. People were screaming, running, there were so many bodies… Helga felt bile rise in her throat at the sight.

Phoebe floored the vehicle out of the camp, past the shouting soldiers who were trying to stop her, but jumped out of the way as she didn't slow down. Helga stared blankly out of the windshield, trying to gather her thoughts. Everything went to hell so fast.

After a half hour of silence, Phoebe finally broke it. "I'm so glad I found you Helga…." She sighed, relief in her voice.

Helga turned and looked at her friend, nodding. "Me too. I probably would have been dead already if you hadn't found me." She stated matter of fact.

There was more silence.

"We're going back to Hillwood." Phoebe said, driving down a long, straight highway.

"Hillwood? Are you sure that's a good idea Pheebs? That's where we saw it all go to shit…" Helga shuddered, remembering seeing all the people getting attacked. And Arnold…

"That's the smartest place we could go Helga, think about it. We know all of the shops, all the back alleys, we could maneuver around so easily and can build a safe house somewhere we're familiar." Phoebe reassured.

Helga sighed. "…Okay…I trust you."

Phoebe nodded before glancing down at Helga's arm. "So you know I'm going to ask-"

"Why I'm not infected?" Helga cut her off, knowing that's what was coming.

"I'm sorry, but I have to know…" She stuttered, nervous to her friend's reaction.

Helga let out a deep breath, "I'm immune to the infection."

Helga saw Phoebe's eyes widen before relaxing again. "I see…"

She nodded, continuing. "That was why they took me away that night. They wanted to find out why, but they never did. They just kept experimenting on me." Helga sighed.

"I'm so sorry Helga..." Phoebe said, clearly pained that she couldn't help her friend.

Helga just nodded. "That's why my hair is so short. They shaved my head and cut my skull open to poke around my brain to see if there was any clue in there." She sighed before continuing, "But, they still didn't find anything. Luckily, they hit something in my brain and now I have stress induced seizures." She said, the last sentence obviously sarcastic.

Phoebe lowered her head for a moment. "Wow…" was all she could muster.

"Pheebs…" Helga muttered, rubbing her left arm, tracing the indents from the bite marks. "If we run into anyone, do not mention my immunity, please…"

Phoebe nodded, not asking why.

"It'll only cause problems…so we need to make sure my arm is covered at all times, so they don't see the scars."

"Okay, I understand." Phoebe said, looking at some of the road signs. "Maybe there's a department store nearby that we can just grab you one before we get to Hillwood."

Helga shook her head vigorously. "No, no, we should wait until we're closer to Hillwood. It's like you said, we know that area better. Plus, our houses are there where our clothes are, so we may not have to break into a store."

Phoebe chuckled. "Yeah, but wouldn't it be nice to get a couple new outfits?" She glanced over at her friend, smiling.

Helga let out a small laugh. "Yeah, that's not a bad idea."

"Why don't you get some sleep Helga? We're hours away from Hillwood, you might as well rest."

Helga looked over at Phoebe. "Are you sure?"

Phoebe smiled, "Of course, I'm fine to drive. Just rest."

Helga hesitated for a moment, before agreeing and climbing into the backseat to stretch out. "Thanks Pheebs."

"You're welcome Helga."

It didn't take long at all for Helga to fall asleep.

Helga woke with a start when she felt the vehicle come to a stop. "Wake up Helga, we're in Hillwood." She heard Phoebe call from the front seat.

She sat up, stretching. Helga looked out the window and saw they were parked out front of an abandoned department store. "So we're really breaking in, huh?"

"Yup," Phoebe said, turning off the car and hopping out. "You coming?"

Helga sighed before opening the door and jumping out herself. "Please just let the doors be open…" She muttered, still too groggy to go smashing windows or doors.

Luckily, there were already enough holes in the window panes for both of them to fit through. They quietly crept through the shattered glass, careful not to make too much noise in case those things were in here. "Let's just get what we can and get out." Phoebe whispered.

Helga replied with a quick nod. They walked up to the athletic department and they both noticed various baseball bats and they looked at each other.

"We should grab metal ones as weapons." Helga whispered. Phoebe agreed, and they both grabbed two before continuing through the athletic department. They also took a book bag each, ones that could hold the bats on either side.

They stopped at the Face North and Armor Under fixtures, smiling at each other. "Well we never could afford these when the world was normal." Phoebe whispered, laughing quietly. Helga smiled, before they both grabbed rain breakers and stuffed them in their book bags.

While they were still in the athletic department, they grabbed rope, tape, and some medical supplies that were scattered about. Surprisingly, this store hadn't been raided too terribly, so it was rather easy for them to find the shelves that were still intact.

Helga and Phoebe made their way into the juniors' department, and they both quickly changed from their grungy clothes that were provided at the camp into jeans and t-shirts. Helga's of course being long sleeved. She also was sure to grab a sports slip that covered it, putting it on underneath the shirt. They both grabbed some more clothes and put them in their bags.

They had just finished zipping up the bags when they heard voices coming from the back of the store and they both jumped, startled.

"Looters." Phoebe whispered, clearly nervous. From the sound of their voices, it sounded like five men.

"We can't let them find us, we have to try to sneak out." Helga muttered, both of them ducking down and beginning to walk towards the exit.

They were almost at the exit, when their back packs were grabbed, yanking them back into the dark store.

"Well well!" One of the men stated proudly. "Look what we've got here gentlemen!"

The rest of the men laughed, two were still holding onto Helga and Phoebe's back packs as they struggled to get away.

"Whoa whoa whoa! You two are awfully rude, seeing as we just saved you and all!" The redheaded man taunted.

"_Saved _us?" Helga scoffed. "We were FINE before you five morons." She said, throwing a fist at the blonde man who had gotten too close to her face.

"Oh really?" The man with a baseball cap spoke up, getting close to the girls, whispering and pointing to the outside. "Maybe we should let you go out there and make some new friends then?" Helga and Phoebe's gazes followed the man's finger, seeing three of the creatures walking around outside, snarling. They didn't notice them yet.

"These two are awfully rude to rescuers… I say we teach them how to properly thank someone." The bald one said, a sinister smirk creeping across his face.

Helga felt the blood drain from her face. She knew coming in here was a mistake. With all her might, Helga head butted the man holding onto her from behind, and promptly used the force of that to rear up and kick the redheaded man in the throat, knocking him to the ground.

Phoebe followed suit and also head butted the man behind her, only she kicked the man with the baseball cap between the legs, sending him to his knees.

"Hey!" The bald man shouted in surprise, watching his companions skitter backwards. Without warning, his fist connected with Phoebe's jaw, sending her flying onto the ground.

Helga went to kick the bald man in retaliation, but he was able to clock her upside the head and knocked her to the ground. Delirious from the punches, Helga and Phoebe both lay on the floor, watching as the men slowly composed themselves again.

"So, is that how this is gonna go down?" One of them said. "That's okay, we can do rough." Helga felt herself get flipped over, one of the men unbuttoning her pants and pulling them off, giving her a chance to kick the redheaded man again. That only made him angrier, as he turned back towards Helga and punched her in the nose, hard. Helga's head smacked the ground, blood spewing out of her nose from the punch. She felt a pain in the side of her head as he punched her again.

Phoebe yelped as another man punched her in the face too. "Can't have you struggling either little lady." There was a chuckle from the group.

Helga felt the man start pulling down her underwear, and with the last bit of strength she had, she reached up and clawed at his face. The man let out a painful scream. "You just don't let up, do you bitch?!" He brought his fist all the way back, Helga's eyes widening before his fist connected with her eye socket.

"Please, stop!" Phoebe squeaked, but then she was punched in the face too.

The men were just about to continue, but then suddenly there was a loud crack, and a thump. "What the fuck?!" One of the men yelled before getting cracked in the face with a bat as well. Before long, all five men had been sent to the ground unconscious.

Helga's eyes were rolling in the back of her head, she looked over at Phoebe, who appeared to be unconscious from the last punch the man laid on her. Helga felt like she might go any moment too. Between the blood now pooling in her eyes and her blurring vision, all she could see were three silhouettes approaching her and Phoebe.

"Do you think they're okay?" A female asked, touching Helga's cheek. Helga jerked her face away, groaning.

"They look beat up, but nothing severe." A man said, a little farther away.

Helga could hear footsteps growing closer, but they stopped abruptly once they got close to her and Phoebe.

"Oh my God…" The fourth person, who had just arrived said, his voice cracking.

"What is it?" someone else asked as they man appeared to be stunned.

"… That's… That's my wife…"

****OH MY GAWWWWD I FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! I'm so excited about this one! Of course Arnold wasn't dead (: most of you seemed to know that already though, haha. I'm sorry to leave this chapter on such a cliff hanger but I've been DYING to get to this part to end it just like this! I hope you guys enjoy this one! I made it nice and long for you (: Oh! And by the way, if you guys EVER happen to do any sort of fan art for these stories please let me know! I'd love to share it and give y'all credit! (Not that I think these are super amazing enough for fanart, just saying it'd be cool to have some!) Anyways, as always enjoy, and be sure to leave comments! 3****


	5. Chapter 5: Reunion

Arnold stood over Helga in shock. The rest of his group staring at him.

The female finally spoke up after a moment of silence. "Arnold… This is really your wife?" She said, clearly surprised.

Arnold just nodded, staring down at Helga before kneeling next to her. He felt a strong pain in his chest and his hands were shaking uncontrollably after seeing Helga's pants that were lying next to her on the ground.

The female began to look around, feeling a sense of unease. "We need to go…" She mumbled, but Arnold ignored her as he stayed bent over Helga.

"Arnold…" One of the other males urged. "Macy's right, we need to go."

Arnold still didn't respond, he just quietly stared at Helga, he felt his heart breaking.

"Arn-"

"JUST GIVE ME A MINUTE!" Arnold yelled, making everyone jump, and they remained silent after that.

Arnold took a deep breath, raking his hands through his hair, trying to regain his composure. He gently took hold of her pants and began pulling them back up on her, when a pathetic whimper escaped Helga's lips and she began trying to weakly scoot away from him.

"Helga…" His voice cracked as he gingerly put his hand on her head, smoothing her hair back from her face. "…It's me, it's Arnold."

Helga seemed to instantly calm down once she heard his voice. Her eyes just barely opened before rolling back again as they shut. "Arnold…" She mumbled, blood still seeping from her broken nose.

"Sshh, we're going to get you cleaned up, okay?" His voice was still shaking as he took the opportunity of her not wiggling away to pull Helga's pants the rest of the way up her waist before gently lifting her from the floor, careful of her head.

"Mike, grab Phoebe." Arnold ordered, already walking away with Helga in his arms. "Macy, you grab their bags and unlock the car."

Macy immediately picked up the discarded bags and followed Arnold closely behind with Mike and the other male, Luke. Once Macy opened the back door for Arnold, he carefully put Helga into the middle seat and buckled her in. Mike put Phoebe in the seat next to her and climbed into the front passenger seat, while Arnold buckled himself into the seat next to Helga.

Luke, who was still standing outside of the car, unclipped Helga and Phoebe's vehicle keys from one of their book bags and opened the driver's side door. "I'm going to drive their car back to camp, we could always use another running vehicle."

The rest of the group all nodded before Macy started the engine and began driving.

A few minutes had passed and everyone was silent.

Arnold jumped at the sudden hand that seemed to latch onto his leg. He looked over to see Helga's hand tightly gripping his thigh. He glanced at her face in a bit of surprise to see her head bobbing to the side, her eyes opening just barely.

Arnold watched her for a moment before feeling her head land softly onto his shoulder with a small thump.

It seemed like an eternity getting to the camp, and Arnold spent the entire drive carefully watching Helga to make sure she was okay.

The car came to a stop when they finally reached the entrance, where heavily armed people stood on top. Their vehicles were waved through quickly once they saw who were in the vehicles. After a few more minutes of driving, the group came to a stop and got out of the cars.

"Take their things to the housing unit." Arnold ordered, "Except you Luke, I need your help to carry Phoebe to the infirmary." He said as he picked up Helga and began walking.

Luke obeyed and picked up Phoebe from her seat.

Arnold looked down at Helga's face as he carried her, his heart breaking all over again as he scanned the injuries to her face. The blood had been smeared all over, between it dripping and her head resting on Arnold's shoulder during the ride. Her nose was visibly broken, and her eye was swollen shut.

Arnold and Luke reached the infirmary where they placed Phoebe and Helga in separate rooms. Arnold delicately placed Helga down in the bed when Luke walked in. "I'm guessing you'll be waiting here until your wife wakes up." Luke said, rather matter-of-fact.

Arnold just gave a small nod as he pulled up the nearby chair and sat down next to her bed. Luke nodded before leaving the room.

Arnold gave a long, shaken sigh as he leaned over and gave Helga a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'll be here when you wake up…" He muttered.

"Mn…" Helga's head was pounding as she slowly sat up in the small infirmary bed. She felt her heart begin to race once she realized she had no idea where she was. "Where…" She sat up even more, but her legs felt like they were much heavier, and she realized there was someone resting their head on her legs.

"Wait…" Her voice shook when she recognized that blonde hair. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed the person by the hair and lifted up their head.

"Ow!" Arnold yelped, suddenly being awoken by his hair practically being yanked out of his head. His eyes instantly met Helga's, who clearly was shocked to see him.

There was a long silence that seemed to stretch for an eternity.

Helga finally released Arnold's hair from her vice-like grip, only to bring her hands to her mouth as she choked back a sob. "This…can't be real." She stammered between tears.

Arnold felt his eyes begin to water before he slowly reached up and took her hands from her mouth to place them on either side of his face. "It's real Helga. I'm real." He let out a shaky sigh.

He shut his eyes before he felt Helga taking her hands out of his grip that still held them to his face.

Suddenly, Arnold's cheek stung and his head flung to the side, a loud slap echoed through the room.

There was silence before Arnold's shock finally wore off and he turned back to look at Helga, who still had her hand in the air ready to smack him again. Tears streamed down her face and she swung again but Arnold gently caught her hand.

Helga swung her other hand and got him lightly in the face once more but Arnold managed to grab that arm too before she managed a third swing.

Helga began struggling, sobbing and letting out a cry before trying to kick Arnold.

"Helga…"

"Helga, stop."

"Stop, please!" Arnold begged, finally climbing onto the bed and pinning her arms down, staring at her frantic eyes as tears continued to stream down her face.

"How could you do that to me?!" Helga finally screamed, her struggling starting to dwindle to nothing.

Arnold froze, not sure what to say.

Helga stopped struggling completely and stared up at Arnold, her eyes searching his. "How could you send me off so easily?" She whimpered. "You left me alone… I wanted to stay with you!"

Arnold's grip on her hands loosened. He realized why she lashed out and slapped him. The last time they saw one another, she was leaving on a helicopter while an infected child had tried to bite him. She had every right to be angry and hurt. She thought he was dead this whole time.

"I thought you were dead. I watched that boy attack you and…" Her voice broke off at the end.

"Oh Helga…" Arnold felt his voice crack as his tears began to fall. "I'm so sorry. I panicked, I wanted to protect you. I didn't know what else to do."

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Helga." He brought her hand up to his face and kissed the inside of her wrist. "But I'm here now, and you're here. We're together again and that's all that matters."

Helga let out another sob before she nodded.

Arnold let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding when Helga flung herself up and wrapped her arms around him. She pulled his face towards hers and kissed him fiercely, pulling his body closer to hers on the bed.

Arnold snaked his hand up into Helga's hair before he felt her wince. He immediately let his hand fall and broke away from the kiss. "You're hurt." He reminded himself before removing himself from the bed and walking over to the other side of the room to get the medical kit that Luke had left out for him to use once she woke up.

Helga watched, rather disappointed in her injuries, her mind drifting off to what could've happened had she not been beaten up.

"Where's Phoebe?" Helga asked, realizing her friend hadn't even crossed her mind.

"She's fine, she got knocked around a little bit too, but she's sleeping in the next room. I'll take you to her once I make sure you're alright."

Arnold returned to the side of the bed, setting the medical kit on the table next to it. "You're not going to like me after this Helga, but I have to set your nose."

Helga just stared at him for a moment and much to Arnold's surprise, she just sighed and nodded.

"Just hold onto my arms and squeeze if you need to. It's going to hurt." He said before he placed his hands on her nose. "Okay now breathe in," Helga took a deep breath. "…and breath out." As Helga let out the breath, Arnold quickly reset her nose. Helga let out a cry and a few choice words.

Arnold dabbed her nose gently with a cloth, a comfortable silence between them. Helga watched him carefully as he tended to her like they had been together this whole time.

"So… any specific reason why you cut off all of your hair?" Arnold's curiosity finally got the better of him and he spoke up. Helga quietly reached up and touched her short hair, absent mindedly touching the long scar left from the surgery the sergeant ordered.

"It was just… more practical." She came up with the quickest, best lie she could think of.

Arnold noticed her pause and stared at her for a moment, not completely buying it. He didn't question her further, he could see in her face that she didn't want to talk about it.

"Let me see your head. It was bleeding when we found you in the department store." Helga hesitated, but decided it was best not to fight him over this and slowly turned her head.

Arnold carefully parted her hair, finding a large, still slightly bloody welt. He took a little bit of the disinfectant and dabbed at her wound. Helga stayed perfectly still, but let out a slight hiss as it burned her scalp.

Arnold noticed a long scar on Helga's head. "Helga… what…"

Helga jerked her head away before gingerly touching her scar. _Shit… c'mon Helga, think of something._

"After the first night, when we were separated… I hit my head on the glass of the helicopter that took me to a camp." She thought of the quickest lie she could think of.

Arnold searched her eyes for a moment before sighing. "…I don't think that's what happened Helga… but… you must have a reason not to tell me, so I'm not going to ask." He said, standing up and kissing her forehead.

"I have to go check on some things. I'll be back to check on you in a little bit, okay?" He propped his hand on the door. Helga nodded and looked up at him. "Okay."

Arnold smiled, "Get some more rest Helga. I love you."

Helga felt her heart practically leap out of her throat and she couldn't help but smile back. "I love you too Football Head."

******WOOOOHOOOO! Long time no see everybody! WHOA it's been a crazy year. But I'm back in business. I tried to make this one longer. The awaited reunion finally happens, yay! I cannot WAIT for you guys to see what I have in store for our lovely couple. It's going to get even crazier! (: as always, leave a review, tell me what you think!******


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